budgeting Archives - Church Executive

By Nathan Freeland I had a meeting with Pastor Sam. It didn’t go well. From that meeting, I learned a great deal about what pastors are required to know and do but were never taught. As a pastor, you may often wonder how you can make a greater impact for the Kingdom. I do as […]

Our expertise. Your mission. By Kari Boyce & Chris Lewis Growing ministries face financial and facility capacity constraints on a regular basis. One important question is, How does a ministry prepare for financing its growth? Here is some guidance from a lender’s perspective. Be intentional about managing your records and your books. I’m talking about […]

By Alina Parizianu You’re driving home from a wonderful vacation and the “check engine” light in your vehicle comes on. The engine is running smoothly, and the transmission is shifting properly, so you continue to drive the vehicle, thinking it will be OK until you can get home and have it checked by your mechanic. Suddenly, […]

Just a few months ago, First Baptist Tulsa opened the doors of its new four-story, 82,000-square-foot preschool and children’s building. Rendering provided by HH Architects. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh With a community focus, congregational support, a solid plan and the right architectural expertise at the ready, First Baptist Tulsa has (beautifully) overcome the biggest challenge of […]

By Skylar Griego As we adjust to writing “2019” in our planners, now is a good time to reflect on 2018 and see the big picture. At Church Executive, that means taking a look at which articles were most important to our readers. When we looked at the 15 most-read articles, the editors noticed there […]

By Sam S. Rainer III I’ve noticed a recent trend among churches. The evidence is more anecdotal, but I have no doubt the phenomenon is occurring on a national scale. While more than half of all churches are in some form of attendance decline, a segment of these declining churches experiences either stability in giving […]

By Jack Siegman Trends aren’t easy to see while in the middle of ministry, or even by viewing reports or spreadsheets. But the fact is, your data tells a story. What story is your data telling? Are you using that story to make informed strategic decisions? And more important: are you able to understand […]

Like any other organization, it is necessary for a church to compile financial reports on a regular basis. Many churches use Microsoft Excel, which requires constant manual data input from a user on a designated device. The problem with this system is that configuring the information for specific reports requires a lot of work […]

By Dan Mikes You’ve been offering two or three weekend worship services for quite a while, you are regularly filling more than 80 percent of the seats available in your worship facility, and you are at maximum capacity in the children’s space. Understandably, your leadership team has decided it is time to expand.